Airless coupling



Jan. 15, 1963 v. G. MAGoRlEN AIRLESS CoUPLING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 5, 1959 zwar/92549,;

Jan. 15, 1963 v. G. MAGoRlEN 3,073,342

AIRLEss coUPLING Filed Oct. 5, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 necting them together; v c .c

FIGURE 2 is an` enlarged longitudinal sectional viewl iofv Athe Amale and female assemblies; coupled Vtogether `to 3,073,342 AIRLESS COUPLING Vincent G. Magorien, Reseda, Calif., assignor to Seaton- Wilson Manufacturing Company, Burbank, Calif., a corporation of California Filed st. 5, 1959, Ser. No. 844,414 6 Claims. (Cl. IS7-614.03)

- This invention relates to coupling devices, and more particularly to an improved coupling for fluid carrying lines.

.As is well known, there are many types of fluid handling apparatus,'.wherein a source of fluid under pressure and apparatus for handling or being operated by the Huid must occasionally be vconnected and disconnected. Typical of such systems are hydraulic systems employing oils kof various types, and gaseous systems for handling fuels and the like.

Due to the nature of .the system or the characteristics of the fluid used, the situation often is one in which absolutely no entrapment of air within the fluid lines being connected, and no spillage of uid upon disconnectingthe lines, can be tolerated. AFor example, hydraulic liuids may become contaminated or decomposed as a result of air or moisture entrapment. Air entrapment in a hydraulic sys- 3,073,342 Patented Jan. 15, 1963 FIGURE 5 is a partial sectional view of the abutting ends of the female assembly vpreparatory to machining to obtain the desired flush relationship;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the lines 6-6 of FIGURE 2 showing the configuration of the carriage guide to permit iiuid to flow between its ends;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective View of the carriage guide showing more clearly how its dimensions vary along its length; and

FIGURE 8 is a perspective View of the retainer element inthe male housing for the male valve stem.

tem may materially Yalter its .response rate,Y sothatits' op?- eration is vsluggish or spongy. .Thesame is truefof the loss of uid fromthe system; And inthe/case of lines.

that carryl fuels-'extremely harmful to surrounding personnel Vor materials, it is obviouslydesirable that absolutely Y none of such fluids be spilled, asl on disconnecting the coupling. .i

In the past, efforts have been made'to develop a coupling device which overcomes these difficulties. However,.all known prior art coupling devices areuniformly'characterized by a failure to eliminate the possibility of air entrapment or iluid spillage. Andso long as there isl any possibility at all of moisture or air entrapment upon con. necting fluid lines, and fluid spillage;- upon disconnecting .v 'the lines, couplings for such lines arefar4 from satisfactory.

f It is accordingly/*an object of this invention to provide acoupling for connecting duid lines without the possibility rof any' air or moisturebeing entrapped in either line when they are connected togethe .i

Itis anotherv object of thisl invention to-providef'an improved coupling for duid lineswhich operates, upon disconnecting the lines, 'to eliminatethe Apossibility of any.' l fluid' ine'ither of the lines being spilled. Y j t Y' A furth'e'robject of this invention visto provide a unique quickJdisconnect coupling for fluid lines which'V eliminates .allhazards connected with the coupling and decoupling of uid" lines,^:and;,which comprises a minimum number of component parts of 'simple design and` rugged `construction;A

The above'an'd Aother objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with Vthe accompanying drawings of aA preferred embodiment thereof, inwhich:

Referring to FIGURE 1, a coupling apparatus is shown which comprises a male valve assembly 1t) and a female valve assembly 11. The male valve assembly 10 has a housing 12 within which is a slidablefvalve stem 13 having an enlarged` valve head 14 centrally located in a bore 15 in the housing12. y I Y The position of the valve head 14 is such that its outer face is exactly ilush with the surrounding face of the housing 12. Furthermore, the valve head 14 within the housing 12 is larger than the diameterV of the bore 15 at the face of the housing 12. Thus, the valve head 14 can move inwardly of the housing 12, but not outwardly past the flush face thereof, i.e., only to the left in FIGURE 1.

To aid in such movement, the stem 13 is guidably sup-l ported within a web element 16, which i's positioned in the housing by means of a snap-ring 17. VA compression l spring 18 is located between the `web element 16 andthe valve head 14.` Thus,y the .spring 18 normally biases the valve head`14 forwardly, so thatl itsy outer'fa'ce is normally- `in precisely the'same planeasv the end ofthe housing-12;-

The valve 14 will movefinwardlyzinresponse to afforce,

applied to th'e'outer face thereof, that Vovercomes the force v i of the spring 18. The female valve assembly 11 :has a main body120 which is adapted to receive the end of .the male housing 12. Slidably disposed within the lbody 20 is a poppetZl',`

within which afvalve stern 22 is located. Thevalve stem f 22at itsputer end, is enlarged to provide a valve head 23,'

" the reverseof that ofthe valve' head 14andthe surround-i1 ing end of the housing`12of the male valv'e assembly 10'.

In other words, the valve headf23is of a diameter that'is greater than thatof ,the. ,surroundingvr portion `of the p'oppet 21within which the'pvalvehead'23 is located.V Thus, the

- FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of male and-v female valve assemblies `of my invention, :prior to con-V place va pair of lines, in .fluid ,communicationg' EIGURE s is a patear-sectional view of the abutting ends of the Vvalve assemblies in thleinitial -portionfof their travel, showing how the mating faces of the couplings and,

' sealing means coope'rate Vto yeliminate the possiblityj of.

entering eitherof Athe couplingsgll FIGURE 4 is; la partiall sectional view ,of lthe abutting' ends of theA housing and. yvalve head. of the male assemblyk preparatorytojmachiningto jobtairrtheV desired rilushsre-l f valvehead 23 cannot move inwardly of thepoppet21..` As: i i. willbe seen,-the relative movement between thepoppetZl `and the valve head 23=is such that thepoppet21 is moved rearwardly of thev valve head 23,i.e., l v

"URE11; v f In the normalpositionof the poppetll, it is surround' ed by a suitable `seal,e.g., an 0-ring'25 that is undercompression, to prevent iuid or air passing betweeni the 0.1L:

ring 25 and the lateral surface lofpthepoppet 21. Vengaged thereby. The portionjof the. male housing lzfinserted within the body Ziis of the samediameterfas the poppet 21, i.e., the-inner diameter of the body 20in;the `vicinity head 14 arepl'acedjnnabutment with .thezflugsh.endsi of the poppet 21 and the, valve,he,ad 23. LBy-`fvirtue ofwthe carefully machinedggand highly polished surfaces-of all;Y of these elements, it willrbe seen that -upon .placing them,

together, all-airisdisplaced,or occluded, fromfbetween them, no air cany enter ibetween vsuchfab'uttir'ig faces: l Whenv the male .valvev housing`z12 i-s inserted.. with in the, lbody 20, forcing thevhousing 12 inwardly resultsin-'the toV thefright in FIG` unitary movement of all the abutting parts until they have passed the O-ring 25. Since the -ring 25 is under compression, it lirst wipes the lateral surface of the poppet 21 as it is forced past it to the right. When the abutting surfaces of the housing 12, and the poppet 21, together with their valve heads 14, 23, are aligned with the O-ring, any annular void or relief between, the outer peripheries of the housing 12 and the poppet 21 is lled by the O-ring 25. Since the `O-ring is under compression, it flows inwardly to ll any such depression that passes thereunder (see FIGURE 3). Upon Ifurther movement of the elements to the right, the O- ring is in wiping engagement with the lateral surface of the housing 12. Thus, my invention has the unique advantage in that it eliminates substantially all possible ways in which air and moisture might enter the hydraulic system through -the valve assemblies.

As will be appreciated, the reverse of the above described movements of the housing 12 and the poppet 21, together with the valve heads therein, as upon disconnecting the coupling elements, operates to prevent any iluid from passing out of the assemblies around the lateral surfaces of the housing 12 and the poppet 2l.

`In the male coupling assembly, the normal position of the valve head 14 is such that the assembly is self-sealing. Such self-sealing is accomplished in part by the arrangement of mating surfaces on the valve head 14 and the interior of the housing 12. `As shown, the bore 15 in the housing 12 is shown to be cylindrical throughout most of its length, and to have an enlarged diameter section adjacent its right-hand end that terminates in a conical taper, as at 27, to a central opening of minimumdiameter at the end face of the housing 12. The outer face `of the valve head 14 is of the same diameter as the minimum diameter portion of thebore 15 at theend of the housing 12, and the valve head body tapers outwardly and rearwardly, as at 28, at the same angle as the'conical section 27.

As. shown, the valve head 14. has a peripheral groove 30 within whichta suitable seal, shown as an 0-ring 31, is locked. In the normal position of the valve headfas shown in FlGURE l, the conical portions 27 and 28 are in abutment, and the O-ring 31 is Valso in engagement with the conical portion 27 ofthe bore 1'5. For.V selfsealing purposes, the springV 18 exerts a force` against the valve head 14 to deform thelO-ring 31 suiciently so that it is in rmseal engagement with the conical portion 27 of the housing 12. Further, the spring 18 compresses the `O-ring llsuiiiciently to ensure that the` conical shoulder 28is in abutment with the conical portion 27 of thebore, and the end face of the `valve head '14 is ilush with the end face of the housing 12.

. The female valve assembly 11,4which is also arranged to be self-sealing, will now be described in greater detail. Referringto FIGURE l, the body is arranged to be secured at its right-hand end to a bushing 35, and to' this end the bushing 35 has an externally threaded boss 36 projecting within the body 2i) and threadedlysecured thereto; as indicated at 37. The bushing 35 is provided with a ange 38, of greater dimension than the end of the body 20, to provide means having amechanical ad-` 'vantage for turning the bushing 35 into the -body 24)'. The bushing 35 is turned until the adjacent end of the body` 29 abuts the vadjacent surface of the llange 3S.

i Astshown, the body 20 is provided with an annular i groove-39 that'contains a seal, shown las anl 0-r-ing 40,

tion 43 of approximately the same length as the minimum diameter portion 42. As shown, the inner diameter of the boss 36 is substantially the same as the diameter of the enlarged opening portion 43. Slidably disposed within the larger diameter portion 43 within the body 20 iS a guide element 44, a compression spring 45 disposed between the bushing 3S and the guide 44 urges the guide against the right-hand end of the poppet 21, thereby to normally keep poppet A21 in an extreme left-hand position.

The valve stem 22 has a threaded portion a short distance from the valve head 23 for securing the stem 22 in one end of sleeve 47 slidably supported in the guide 44. As shown, one end of the sleeve 47 is disposedwithin the guide 44, and at its opposite end the sleeve 47 extends into the boss 36. A rod or pin 48 extends through a slot 49 in the sleeve 47,` and a lock-washer 49 is located in undercut portions of the pin 48. A spring 50 has its ends in abutment with the lock-washer 49 and the adjacent portion of a guide 44, whereby to urge the guide 44 and the lock-washer 49 apart. This means that the pin 48 is urged away from the guide 44, whereupon the sleeve 47 and the valve stem 22 are urged to the right in FIGUREV l. The action of the spring 50 results Vin the valve head 23 being forcibly held in 4a position so that its outer face is ush with the outer tace of the poppet 21.

As shown, the Valve head 23 has a peripheral groove 52 in which is located a seal, shown as an 0-ring seal such seal being compressed within the groove 3g whenY the:` bushingis threaded into the sleeve.y Theiseal 4 0* pre- Vvents leakageef any fluid through the threads 37 and outtofthe assembly between the abutting portion of the body 20'and the ilange 38;.and alsoprevents entrapment ofairin thethreads.

''lhe bore of the body 20fhas a minimum diameter por-lV tion 42V in which the rpoppet is slidably disposed, and immediately adjacent thertois an enlarged diameter por.

enA

53. The shoulder portion of the valve head 23 (on the left of the groove 52 as seen in FIGURE l) is conical, the portion of the greatest diameter being ilush with the outer face ofthe poppet 21. The shoulder 54 is in solid contact with a mating conical portion 55 of the poppet. The portion of the poppet 21 surrounding the valve head 23 has another conical portion 56 axially spaced from the conical portion 55.

The conical portion 56 of the poppet tapers inwardly to the right in FIGURE l, so that the portion thereof of smallest diameter is smaller than the. O-ring 53;l thus, the O-ring 53 cannot move past the conical portion 56 to the'right. Due to the action of the spring 59, `the force with which the valve head 2.3 is held within the poppet 21 is sutticient to cause the Cring 53` to compress against the conical portion 56 andthereby form an effective seal simultaneously, the conical portions 54, 55 of the poppet and valve head are in abutment, and their faces are ilush.. t

' i My. invention-'incorporates means for initially properly seating the conical shoulder 54 of the valve` head 23 against the inner conical face 55 of the poppet. end, the inner end of the 1valve stem 22 is provide'dwith a transverse groove 60, and a shaft 61is`slidably Idisposed within the sleeve 47 `that has a tang or tongue 62 to tit within the groove 60. The shaft 61 at itsropposite` end extends through the sleeve 47, and is-provided with a 4slot 63 to receive the end of a tool, sueltas a screw-` driver.

the shaftV 61 can move to the right pntil the pin 48 abuts` 1 To eect such-movement, the sleeve p, 47 is provided with the-plurality ofopeningsin which ball the shoulder v35'.

elements 65 arelocatecl With reference to the assembly in which the valve head andipoppet face arermade iiush'j the bottorning action is etrectedjuwirh the guidera; rapisce. Th balises aid inv To this The pin 48 is 'secured in the shaft 61, so as to move i a pair of coaxial valve members respective labnsings'` a,ova,sa2

7 poppet 21, so that any air between the poppet 21 and the body 20 will bleed off.

A unique advantage of the female valve assembly is that if pressure of fluid within the assembly is so great that tensile and bearing forces on the parts tend to deform them, so that the valve stem 22 tends to move forward, the external facesof the poppet 21 and the valve head 23 will remain flush. The reason is that the poppet is restrained from moving to the left by the valve head 23; accordingly, the poppet, due to the interal pressure, will follow the valve, and the valve seal will be maintained.

My invention is characterized by fast action of the various parts in disconnecting the lines coupled thereby. Retraction of the sleeve 77 frees the spring 45 to force the guide 44 and the poppet'21 outwardly. This action effects the reverse movement of the parts as described in locking them together. Due to my unique construction, these actions, though successive, are almost instantaneous. No liuid can spill because when the end faces of the Valve head 23 and poppet 21, and the en d faces of the valve head 14 and the housing 12 become flush, they are still at the right of the O-ring 25. As they pass the O-ring 25, it wipes the lateral surfaces, as previously described, to prevent the escape of any duid along such surfaces.

The disengagement of my coupling proceeds as follows: forcing the sleeve 77 to the right against its spring 80 results in the springs 1S, 45, 56 propelling the guide 44, the poppet 21 and the housing 12 to the left, so that shoulder of the housing 12 in the groove 12' cams the balls 75 radially outward.

After the balls are released, the only parts in motion are the housing 12, the poppet 21 and the guide 44. -When the poppetri in its movement tothe left contacts the valve head 23, thus closing both valve parts, Yit operates through thevalve head 23 and valve stem 22 to force the sleeveA 47 to the left. mains Ain contact with the shoulder 35, due to the action of the spring 50. Thus, there is relative movement be-` tween the sleeve 47 and the shaft`61, whereby the locking balls 65' are cammed radially outward to engage the circumferential shoulder atthe rear of the guide'44.

As the sleeve 47 continues to move to the left, while f the shaft 61 remains stationary, the portion of the sh'aft 61 to the left of the groove 67' is-disposed adjacent the openings in the sleeve 47 in which the balls 65 are located. 'Ihiscauses the balls 65 to be locked between Athe outer diameter of the shaft 61 and the circumferetial shoulder of the guide 44. The valve head '2,3 is locked against its seat, and the valve head 14 is vreturnedtoits seat.

i The balls 65 roll within these restraining diameters The pin 48, of course, re-

until the right face of 4the slot 47 in` the sleeve 47 bottoms against the pin 43, after which the pin 4S and the shaft 61 are carried'to the left",4 After' the pin l43 and the shaft 61 have ybeen v,translated a Ashort distance,v the housing 12, whichghas been leaving the female housing 2), passesfout of the'O-ringls while thepoppet 21` enters it. The poppet 21 continues" to theleft until the legs i 70' of the guide44 bottom' against the radial-shoulderof the housing 20. Y

It will be apparent from the foregoing4 that-while have illustrated and described a preferred structure, various mfodicationsmayV be; made therein without departing-from the spirit and scopeof `my invention. Accordfingly, I1 donot intend that my inventionrbe limited, except g as bythe appendedclaims.

claim: i *1. A coupling assembly co'rnprising'rr'V "facels,i".the end face ofL one valvemen1berfgbeingno ing` parallel. ends and its housing having cooperable conical surfaces extending from their ends to prevent movement of said one valve member inwardly of its housing, said other valve member and its housing having cooperable conical surfaces extending from their ends to prevent movement of said other valve member externally of its housing;

a sleeve surrounding and supporting the housing for said one valve member so that it is slidable in said sleeve;

means in the other housing normally biasing said other valve member therein to a position wherein its end face is in the same plane as the end face of one end of said other housing;

means in said one housing normally biasing said one housing and said one valve member therein with the end faces of said one valve member and one end of said one housing are in the same plane, said biasing means in each housing cooperating, upon pressing said end faces together and forcing one against the other, to effect unitary movement of said housings and valve members for a predetermined distance, and then permitting the valve members to remain stationary while the housings move relative thereto; and

a sealing member in said sleeve normally surrounding and engaging said one housing a distance from its outer end less than said predetermined distance, whereby the housings and their members do not undergo relative movement until said member engages said other housing.

2. In a coupling mechanism, the combination of a housing having a central bore;

a poppet in said housing slidable in one end of said bore, said poppet'having a central opening which at its outer end is a conical portion wherein the inl ner end is the smaller;

a valve stem in said poppet having a mating conical end in the conical portion of said central opening, the end face of said conical end being flush with the outer end of said poppet;

a sleeve secured to the inner end of said valve stem, said sleeve having a circumferential row of open ings located between its ends;

a guide element slidable on said sleeve having a recess about said row of openings, said guide element being Y in the path of said poppet;

a-shaft slidable in said sleeve, said shaft having a circumferential groove intermediate its ends; ball elements in the openings in said row, said guide element upon movement, inwardly moving Athe ball elements, and` hence the sleeve, therewith until the ball elements reach said groove, whereupon the ball elements enter said groove to permit Vsaid guide element to undergo further movement along saidsleeve;

, `bias means interconnecting said housing, said guide element andsaid shaft, said bias means'normally urging said guide element, and hence said poppet, to.

ment Aand` saidpin' apart; stop meansjin said housing to .i limit'the innermost position of said pin, and hence said shaft; and a further compression spring in said bias means `larger `thanthe endifface of theso'thervalve mem.'

j .rounding theifvalvve memberarsraid one valve member of the samer, outer'dimensions sur!i j i operating to urgefsaid guide element toward said one end of said housing.

4. The combination defined in Vclaim 2,` wherein said housing includes anv inner groove intermediate said one end and said limit means for the poppet; `and a4 seal element in said `inner groove,4 said seal` element protruding from said inner groove throughot its length,

said seal in the normal position of said poppet being in sealing engagement with the poppet.

5. The combination defined in claim 4, further including a valve member formed of a stem having an en'- larged head that is conical, the end of said conical head 5 being the smaller end of said head;

a housing for said valve member having a bore which at one end is conical andadapted to matingly engage said head, the ends of said housing and said head being flush, said housing being the samesize as said 10 puppet and adapted to engage said poppet and be moved therewith past said seal element; and

means for locking said housings together in the position in which the engaging ends of said poppet and the housing for said valve member are inwardly of 15 said seal element.

6. The combination dened in claim 5, said valve member housing including an outer circumferential groove spaced from the end thereof, said housing for the. poppet including a circumferential row of openings 20 outwardly of said seal element; a sleeve surrounding said poppet housing; spring means biasing said sleeve to an outer position on said poppet housing wherein said sleeve overlays said row of openings in the poppet housing; and ball element in said row of openings in the poppet housg5 ing, said ball elements being adapted to enter the groove in said valve member housing.

References @iisd in the' file of this patent UNTTED STATES PATENTS Crittall Feb. 3, 1920 Croning July 17, 1928 Fisher Sept. 2, 1941 Schneller Apr. 7, 1942 Greig Feb. 2, 1943 Speth May 1l, 1943 Hansen Sept. 21, 1948 Hengst Oct. 12, 1948 Main Oct. 12, 1948 Scheiwer Mar. 20, 1951 Scheiwer Aug. 11, 1953 Balassl Aug. 2, 1955 Hansen Feb. 11, 1958 Hoffstrorn Sept. 6, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland Feb.l 28, 1957 Great Britain Sept. 15, 1954 

1. A COUPLING ASSEMBLY COMPRISING: A PAIR OF CO-AXIAL VALVE MEMBERS HAVING A PARALLEL END FACES, THE END FACE OF ONE VALVE MEMBER BEING NO LARGER THAN THE END FACE OF THE OTHER VALVE MEMBER; RESPECTIVE HOUSINGS OF THE SAME OUTER DIMENSIONS SURROUNDING THE VALVE MEMBERS, SAID ONE VALVE MEMBER AND ITS HOUSING HAVING COOPERABLE CONICAL SURFACES EXTENDING FROM THEIR ENDS TO PREVENT MOVEMENT OF SAID ONE VALVE MEMBER INWARDLY OF ITS HOUSING, SAID OTHER VALVE MEMBER AND ITS HOUSING HAVING COOPERABLE CONICAL SURFACES EXTENDING FROM THEIR ENDS TO PREVENT MOVEMENT OF SAID OTHER VALVE MEMBER EXTERNALLY OF ITS HOUSING; A SLEEVE SURROUNDING AND SUPPORTING THE HOUSING FOR SAID ONE VALVE MEMBER SO THAT IT IS SLIDABLE IN SAID SLEEVE; MEANS IN THE OTHER HOUSING NORMALLY BIASING SAID OTHER VALVE MEMBER THEREIN TO A POSITION WHEREIN ITS END FACE IS IN THE SAME PLANE AS THE END FACE OF ONE END OF SAID OTHER HOUSING; MEANS IN SAID ONE HOUSING NORMALLY BIASING SAID ONE HOUSING AND SAID ONE VALVE MEMBER THEREIN WITH THE END FACES OF SAID ONE VALVE MEMBER AND ONE END OF SAID ONE HOUSING ARE IN THE SAME PLANE, SAID BIASING MEANS IN EACH HOUSING COOPERATING, UPON PRESSING SAID END FACES TOGETHER AND FORCING ONE AGAINST THE OTHER, TO EFFECT UNITARY MOVEMENT OF SAID HOUSINGS AND VALVE MEMBERS FOR A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE, AND THEN PERMITTING THE VALVE MEMBERS TO REMAIN STATIONARY WHILE THE HOUSINGS MOVE RELATIVE THERETO; AND A SEALING MEMBER IN SAID SLEEVE NORMALLY SURROUNDING AND ENGAGING SAID ONE HOUSING A DISTANCE FROM ITS OUTER END LESS THAN SAID PREDETERMINED DISTANCE, WHEREBY THE HOUSINGS AND THEIR MEMBERS DO NOT UNDERGO RELATIVE MOVEMENT UNTIL SAID MEMBER ENGAGES SAID OTHER HOUSING. 